US giveth and US taketh away

"Earlier this week, we inadvertently delivered an email message to many of our Dividend Miles members' email accounts. Unfortunately, one of those accounts was yours. Worse, this email incorrectly stated that we posted 1,000 Dividend Miles into your account. This was not accurate and the email message was sent in error.

We apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused you and appreciate your understanding."

I wonder how many top-tier accounts were involved. Perhaps all? If so, we should be able to guesstimate how many people, as an upper bound.

If we figure a value of $10 for those 1,000 miles, wouldn't it be better for US to just accept the cost of the error rather than generate bad will from their top-tier elites (just as the carrier seems to be improving) and the resulting bad publicity. They could even now send another email apologizing for the confusing and saying that they decided to let people keep the miles as a gift, perhaps including any top-tier folks that didn't receive the original email (or announcing the criteria for who was included).

As I said elsewhere, I think this is an example of US trying to do something right but executing wrong. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished. That said, it is not surprising that they give, realize they gave too much and then try to take away.....

With regard to some of the other comments above, let's try to stay on the actual topic at hand shall we?

I got the 1000 bonus email (as a gold elite), but haven't received the "taketh away" email (yet...?). It was a nice gesture that I appreciated and I hope they go through with it. Seems like it'd be a small write off rather than upsetting many, many FFers, but what do I know about their numbers...

If we figure a value of $10 for those 1,000 miles, wouldn't it be better for US to just accept the cost of the error rather than generate bad will from their top-tier elites (just as the carrier seems to be improving) and the resulting bad publicity.

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That valuation is WAY high. There's no way they carry the liability on their books at a penny/point.

Unless the email went to all their members it probably would've been the smart PR move to just let it lay and eat the cost. In most cases it would just be a line on the books for 18 months anyways until the points expire or there is some action on the part of the consumer that actually earns more miles at a rate greater than they would have otherwise. In other words, this should've been a smart enticement to more business. Instead it is more of the 3 Stooges style management behavior that US is known for.

That valuation is WAY high. There's no way they carry the liability on their books at a penny/point.

Unless the email went to all their members it probably would've been the smart PR move to just let it lay and eat the cost. In most cases it would just be a line on the books for 18 months anyways until the points expire or there is some action on the part of the consumer that actually earns more miles at a rate greater than they would have otherwise. In other words, this should've been a smart enticement to more business. Instead it is more of the 3 Stooges style management behavior that US is known for.

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I was trying to overestimate at one cent per mile, which is less than airlines report to the IRS as the value of prize winnings involving miles. I'm also guessing that miles gifted to elites are much more likely to actually be used (and be used on valuable award tickets, not wasted on flights that are available for cheap) than miles distributed to the general population.

Terrible handling by USAir. I didn't get an email, but am fascinated by their handling of the matter. Unlike the BMI status fiasco, actually providing the 1000 miles would not have been a big hit, and it makes them look: (a) incompetent, (b) petty, (c) broke.

I never got the email, but the miles posted and are still sitting there. I'm no-status on US Air.

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Same here. I used to have a US DM account a loooong time ago and I'm pretty sure they deleted it due to non-activity. I recently opened a new one with their social networking promo and got 2000 mi, another 4-5 with the search/shopping toolbar. Never got the "they're waiting for you" email. but 1000 mi showed up in my account last week.

I called 800-428-4322 and then hit 3 for Dividend Miles. I entered my Dividend Miles number and zip code when prompted by Alan, their chipper automated machine. I then hit 0 when they started rattling off my account information and was immediately transferred to a phone rep.
Me: “Hi there. I got an email from US Airways recently promising me 1,000 free miles and they still haven’t showed up in my account.”
Rep: “Oh really? When did you get this email?”
Me: “I think it was Tuesday – it said miles would be waiting in my account, but I checked all week and they still aren’t there.”
Rep: “Please verify your account number, address and phone number”
Me: Provides details.
Rep: “Sir, thank you so much for your patience. I’ve just added the 1,000 points to your account so your new balance is xxx,xxx. Have a great day”
Me: “Thanks, you too!”Lo and behold my account already shows the new “Customer appreciation bonus” miles. I am not elite with US Airways, so I was surprised I got the miles. If you have a couple minutes, it might behoove you to give them a ring and ask for the miles. As much as people say this isn’t a PR nightmare – I agree, it’s not a nightmare - it sure isn’t good. I don’t know whether this manual addition of the miles is a new directive, but I imagine it has something to do with the bad press generated like this, this and this.

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